Feasibility, acceptability and evaluation of meditation to augment yoga practice among persons diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Objective: To design a meditation protocol and test its feasibility, acceptability and efficacy in conjunction with yoga training (YT) for persons with schizophrenia (SZ).

Methods: The meditation protocol consisted of Anapana (observing normal respiration) and Yoga Nidra (supine, restful awareness). In a single-blind randomised controlled trial, medicated and clinically stable outpatients diagnosed with SZ were randomised to receive treatment as usual (TAU), TAU augmented with YT or TAU augmented with meditation and yoga training (MYT) for 3 weeks (N = 145).

Schizophrenia with and without obsessive-compulsive symptoms: a comparative analysis of performance on trail making test and disability on WHODAS.

Background: Presence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) affects performance on tests of some cognitive functions, such as the trail making test (TMT), and may affect the level of disability in schizophrenia (SZ).

Aims: The aim of the present study was to compare performance on TMT and disability on WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) in persons with SZ with and without OCS in a cross-sectional study.

Methods: Persons with SZ (n=200) fulfilling DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) diagnostic criteria were assessed on Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) and divided into two groups based on presence or absence of OCS.

Psychiatric Problems Amongst Adolescents Living With HIV at a Tertiary Care Centre in India.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of psychiatric problems among adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV).

Methods: Questionnaire-based cross-sectional study conducted at pediatric HIV clinic of a tertiary care hospital. Participants: 101 ALHIV between 10-18 years of age.

A preliminary study to investigate resting state fMRI as a potential group differentiator for schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia (SZ) is found to be associated with dysconnectivity between the various regions of the brain. These aberrant connections in brain networks responsible for various mental processes in schizophrenia. We examined differences in functional connectivity among persons with SZ (n = 30) and an equal number of their unaffected relatives using resting state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rsfMRI).

Perceived parental style, cognitive style, and resilience in females with dissociative disorder in India.

Background: Dissociative disorders are theorized to be caused by extremely stressful situations, including abuse, kidnapping, incest, rape, and other threats of death. Such childhood experiences alter one's cognitive style as well as one's ability to deal with adverse situations. It is important to understand how cognitive style influences the relationship between parental style and resilience to help in the management.

Prevalence and clinical correlations of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenia.

Introduction: Obsessive compulsive symptoms are often present in persons with schizophrenia. Adequately powered studies to evaluate the effect of such symptoms in the course of the disorder, are few.

Aim: We aimed to estimate the prevalence and type of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in persons with schizophrenia.

Relationship between Craving and Early Relapse in Alcohol Dependence: A Short-Term Follow-up Study.

Background: The role of craving in alcohol dependence and its relationship with relapse has been studied widely in the past decade. The present study was undertaken to assess the role of craving in short-term relapse of patients seeking treatment for alcohol dependence and changes in craving score at the end of detoxification and at follow-up.

Materials And Methods: A total of 34 male individuals with alcohol dependence (excluding comorbid drug dependence, organic or psychiatric disorder), after detoxification and discharge, consented.

A preliminary study of association of genetic variants with early response to olanzapine in schizophrenia.

Background: Treatment response can be predicted in schizophrenia by DNA information in the drug metabolism pathways. This study aimed to examine clinical characteristics and genetic determinant (s) of early response to olanzapine treatment in schizophrenia using specified drug metabolizing genes.

Materials And Methods: Consenting participants ( = 33) suffering from schizophrenia were diagnosed on Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies.

Emotion discrimination in humans: Its association with HSV-1 infection and its improvement with antiviral treatment.

Background: Herpes simplex virus, type 1 (HSV-1) infects over 3.4 billion people, world-wide. Though it can cause encephalitis, in the vast majority it is asymptomatic, with lifelong latent infection in neurons.

F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography study of impaired emotion processing in first episode schizophrenia.

Background: Schizophrenia cases have been consistently shown to have behavioural and neurofunctional abnormalities but studies during early course are scarce. The present work assesses the performance of acute first episode schizophrenia cases on correlation of a facial emotion perception task with brain function using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET).

Methods: Twenty First episode schizophrenia cases and 20 matched healthy controls living in the community were enrolled.

A Hindi version of the Composite Scale of Morningness.

Background: Several pen and paper measures of human circadian preference are available in English, but none are available in Hindi, hampering research in circadian behavior among Hindi speaking populations in India and elsewhere. The present study describes a Hindi version of the Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM), a self-reported questionnaire widely used to assess morningness/eveningness (M/E). M/E has been used a proxy for circadian phase in lieu of cumbersome and expensive laboratory studies.